Performance & Termination Support
Most leaders wait too long to deal with a performance problem.
Performance issues rarely resolve themselves. When expectations aren’t clear, difficult conversations are avoided, or concerns aren’t addressed early, a manageable issue can become much harder to deal with.
Daeco provides practical performance and termination support for Edmonton businesses, from the first difficult conversation through to termination. We help you approach the process clearly, consistently and with the right documentation along the way.
Avoiding the conversation doesn't make it go away.
We’ve all been here. The performance slipped months ago, the conversations haven’t changed anything, the hoping things will get better hasn’t worked and every week you wait, the situation gets harder to resolve.
01
The underperformer everyone works around.
The team quietly redistributes the work. Your top performers carry the load, and they notice when you let it continue. Underperformance rarely affects the underperformer first. It affects the people who are covering for them.
02
The file that doesn't exist.
The performance concerns go back two years. The documentation goes back two weeks. When there’s a history of concerns but little documentation to support it, leaders can find themselves in a much more difficult position when they need to take action.
03
The termination that goes sideways.
Wrong timing, wrong words. A termination handled badly creates more than just potential legal risk. Everyone still on the team watches how it’s handled, and they remember.
None of this makes you a bad leader. Performance problems are a part of leading people. It’s when they aren’t addressed clearly and consistently that they become harder to manage and the risk quietly compounds.
What performance and termination support actually includes
We step in wherever you are in the process.
Sometimes that’s early: we help you manage performance by clearly identifying the issue, building a performance improvement plan designed to actually improve performance, and coaching the manager who has to deliver it.
Sometimes it’s further along: we help you navigate progressive discipline in a way that is fair, consistent, and properly documented.
And sometimes the decision has already been made and you need support navigating the termination from the documentation and preparation to being there in the room for the conversation itself.
At Daeco HR Consulting, we help you navigate the process with Alberta Employment Standards in mind, identify potential risks, and make sure the steps are clear, consistent, and well documented. You make the decisions that are right for your business. We provide the HR support to help you carry them out thoughtfully.
At Daeco HR Consulting, we become an extension of your leadership team. We provide experienced HR support without you having to hire a full-time HR department. For many growing businesses, fractional human resources is often the right level of support at the right time.
Built for Edmonton employers facing it right now
We give practical HR support for owners and managers dealing with a real situation involving a real person, usually without an HR department behind them.
This is the right fit if you are:
Managing an employee whose performance hasn’t improved despite repeated conversations
Unsure how to move forward with a performance issue or what the next step should be
Weighing a termination and unsure about cause, notice, or termination pay
Looking back at your documentation and wondering whether it’s enough to support the decision you need to make
Preparing for a difficult performance or termination conversation and want an experienced HR professional there to help you navigate it
What working with Daeco looks like
1
Start with a discovery call.
Bring the situation as it actually is, even if it’s messy, even if it’s urgent. We’ll spend 30 to 45 minutes understanding what’s happening and what you’ve done so far. No lengthy intake process.
2
We give you an honest opinion.
We review the history, the documentation, and the circumstances. Then we tell you plainly what your options are, whether there’s a realistic path to improvement or it’s time to consider ending the employment relationship.
3
We are side by side with you.
Performance improvement plans, progressive discipline, termination planning, and preparation for the difficult conversation. We help with the documentation, coach the manager, and when it’s termination day, we can be in the room.
4
We help you close the loop.
We help you work through the final steps, communicate appropriately with the team, and look at what allowed the situation to drift in the first place so you’re not dealing with the same problem again a year from now.
Why Edmonton employers call Daeco before they call a lawyer
An employment lawyer can provide legal advice about a termination and the potential consequences. But many situations need practical HR support first, someone who can help you understand the situation, work through your options, and manage the process properly.
That’s where we come in. We help you address performance concerns, strengthen your documentation, navigate difficult conversations, and manage the termination process when employment needs to end. If legal advice is needed, we’ll tell you that too. [Internal link: “HR support is usually the right first call” → daecohrconsulting.com/when-to-hire-hr-instead-of-a-lawyer (confirm live slug)]
We’re based in Edmonton and work with Alberta employers every day. We understand Alberta Employment Standards and the realities of managing people in a small or growing business. And because we’ve been in these rooms before, we know that termination isn’t just about paperwork. It’s a difficult conversation involving a real person and a team that will be watching how it’s handled.
Terminations are hard. They should be. Our job is to make sure they’re handled thoughtfully, consistently, and with the right HR support around you.
What clients say
Common questions about performance and termination support
Carefully and with the right process in place. Alberta’s Employment Standards Code sets minimum requirements for notice or termination pay based on length of service, while an employee’s overall entitlement may be affected by their employment agreement and other legal considerations. Beyond what’s owed, the process matters: the documentation behind the decision, how the meeting is handled, and what’s communicated afterward. We help you work through each step before anything is said out loud.
Termination without cause generally involves providing the employee with the notice or pay they are entitled to. Termination for cause is different: the circumstances must support ending employment without notice, and the threshold is high. A history of performance concerns without appropriate documentation or follow-through can make a termination more difficult to defend. If you’re considering termination for cause, we can help you assess the HR circumstances and identify when legal advice should be obtained before you act.
Not always. It depends on the circumstances, the nature of the performance concerns, and what has already been done to address them. When improvement is the goal, a genuine performance improvement plan can give the employee a clear opportunity to improve and create a record of the process. What doesn’t work is using a PIP as paperwork for a decision that has already been made. We help build performance improvement plans that are clear, realistic, and designed to give the employee a genuine opportunity to succeed.
Yes. We can help plan the timing, logistics, and message, coach the manager beforehand, and be there for the conversation itself. Having an experienced HR professional in the room can help keep the conversation focused, provide support to the manager, and help ensure the meeting is handled calmly and professionally. We can also help you plan how to communicate with the rest of the team afterward.
Ready to stop putting it off?
Whether you need a performance plan that actually gives someone a chance to improve or a termination handled thoughtfully from start to finish, the process matters as much as the decision. Daeco HR Consulting supports Edmonton businesses through both. Bring us the situation as it is and we’ll help you understand your options, determine the right next steps, and navigate the process with you.